Washington State

Institute for
Public Policy
110 Fifth Avenue Southeast, Suite 214 • PO Box 40999 • Olympia, WA 98504-0999 • (360) 586-2677 • FAX (360) 586-2793 • www.wsipp.wa.gov

November 2006

How Different Base Populations Affect WASL Results

To “increase understanding of the students who did

not meet the standard in one or more areas of
assessment,” the 2006 Legislature directed the
Washington State Institute for Public Policy
(Institute) to conduct a “review and statistical
analysis of Washington assessment of student
learning data.” An interim report is due by
December 2006 and a final report by December
2007.1
A basic indicator of student performance on the
Washington Assessment of Student Learning
(WASL) is the percentage of students who meet
standard. This percentage can vary depending on
which students are included in the calculation.
As one in a series of reports on the WASL, this
analysis describes the different ways to
calculate the “met standard” rate.
In particular, this report compares the percentage of
10th-grade students who met standard in spring
2006 based on students:
SUMMARY
This report considers how different methods of
calculating the “met standard” rate affect the
Washington Assessment of Student Learning
(WASL) results.
Using different base student populations, the
percentage of 10th graders who met standard on
the WASL in spring 2006 is as follows:
• As a percentage of students who were
slated to take the WASL, 44.9 percent met
standard.
• Excluding students with OSPI-approved
exemptions, 50.5 percent of students met
standard.
• As a percentage of students who
completed an assessment, 53.6 percent
met standard.
• Using guidelines established by the No
Child Left Behind Act, 47.2 percent of
students met standard.

• slated to take the WASL (“slated”),2
• without exemptions approved by the Office of
Superintendent of Public Instruction (“OSPI
exemptions”),
• who completed the WASL (“completers”), and
• using guidelines established by the No Child
Left Behind Act (“NCLB exemptions”).
When analyzing the relationships between
performance on the WASL and student
characteristics, the Institute’s calculations use the
number of students who completed all three WASL
subject areas.
When analyzing performance in a specific subject
area, such as math, the Institute uses the number
of students who completed the subject area test.

1
SSB 6618, Chapter 352, Laws of 2006
2
“Slated students” consist of 10th graders who were assigned a
WASL booklet.
Exhibit 1 identifies the different categories of Exhibit 1
students included in each method of computing met Categories of Students Included in Different
standard rates. Calculations of Met Standard Rates
Denominators
Depending on the choice of base population
Categories of Students Slated Completers OSPI NCLB
denominators, the percentage of 10th graders who
met standard in each content area of the WASL in Completed unmodified WASL 9 9 9 9
spring 2006 varies by as much as 8.7 percent.
Took Alternate Assessment 9

SLATED STUDENTS AND COMPLETERS Excused Absences 9

Partial Enrollment 9 9
Records obtained from OSPI indicate that 78,020
students were slated to take the WASL in spring Previously Passed WASL 9
2006; 83.8 percent (n=65,362) of these students
completed all three content areas. An additional English Language Learner 9
3,595 students, or 4.4 percent of all 10th graders,
Medical Exemption 9
were eligible to participate in an alternative
assessment reserved for special education students Unexcused Absence 9 9 9
with an Individualized Education Program (IEP). A
separate report focuses on this population.3 Incomplete/Not Tested 9 9 9

Overall, 12,658 students slated to take the WASL did Student Refusal 9 9 9
not complete all three subject areas. The details by 9 9 9
Invalidated Assessment
subject area are reported in Exhibit 2.

Exhibit 2
10th Graders Who Completed and Did Not
Complete the WASL, by Subject Area, Spring 2006

Slated Completed Not Completed

Subject Students Number Percentage Number Percentage
Reading 78,787 70,922 90.0% 7,865 10.0%
Writing 78,647 70,461 89.6% 8,186 10.4%
Math 78,600 69,803 88.8% 8,797 11.2%
All Three 78,020 65,362 83.8% 12,658 16.2%

3
Wade Cole and Robert Barnoski. (2006). Tenth-Grade Alternate
Assessments for Special Populations: Summary Results Olympia:
Washington State Institute for Public Policy, Document No. 06-11-
2202. Alternate assessments will be included in our computation of
the percentage of students who met standard according to the No
Child Left Behind Act.
 OSPI EXEMPTIONS FEDERAL GUIDELINES: NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Exhibit 3 displays the number of students who did not
complete an assessment by subject and their reasons,
categorized by whether their reason is “approved” (and
hence exempt) or “not approved” by OSPI.
When calculating the percentage of students who meet
standard on the WASL, OSPI excludes students who
were not tested due to excused absences or one of the
following exemptions: partial enrollment, previously
passed, first-year English language learner (ELL), and
medical.4
For example, Exhibit 3 indicates that a plurality of
students who did not complete the WASL—32.6, 31.9,
and 32.6 percent for reading, writing, and math,
respectively—had an excused absence. Unexcused
absences, which do not constitute an OSPI-approved
exemption, account for an additional 17 to 18 percent of
incomplete assessments.
Exhibit 3
Reasons for Not Completing the WASL
in Spring 2006
Reason Not Reading Writing
Completed (n=7,865) (n=8,186)
Absent Excused 32.6% 31.9%
Approved by OSPI
Federal guidelines prescribe yet another method
for evaluating student performance on the WASL.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
establishes specific criteria for calculating the
percentage of students who meet state
achievement standards. As applied to Washington
State, these calculations must include students
who participate in alternate assessments for
special populations (i.e., the WASL-Modified or
Washington Alternative Assessment System), but
exclude first-year English language learner (ELL)
students, students with OSPI-approved medical
exemptions, and students with excused absences.5
COMPARING MET STANDARD RATES ON WASL
Exhibit 4 illustrates how these four denominators
produce different results. For example, when basing
the results on all students slated to take the WASL in
spring 2006, 44.9 percent met standard in all three
subject areas.
Basing the results on students who completed all
Math three subject areas produces the highest met
(n=8,797) standard rate, whereas results based on all students
32.6% who were slated to take the WASL produce the
lowest rate. There is an 8.7 percentage point

Partially Enrolled 21.3% 20.2% 20.7% difference between these methods.

Previously Passed
Exemption 4.6% 3.7% 1.5%
Exhibit 4
ELL Exemption 3.2% 3.1% 3.0% Meeting Standard on 10th-Grade WASL as
Percentage of All and Tested Students,
Medical Exemption 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% Spring 2006
Sub-total 61.8% 59.0% 57.9% 100%

Absent Unexcused
Not Tested 18.0% 17.3% 17.7% 80%
Not Approved by OSPI

No Booklet Not
Tested 9.9% 10.2% 10.3% 60%
Incomplete Not
Tested 7.6% 10.0% 10.0% 50.5% 53.6%
40% 47.2%
44.9%
Refused Not Tested 2.6% 3.3% 3.7%
Invalidated Not 20%
Tested* 0.2% 0.3% 0.4%
Sub-total 38.3% 41.1% 42.1% 0%
Slated NCLB OSPI Completers
* Reasons for invalidation include cheating, test disruption, Students (n=75,477) Exemptions (n=65,362)
and improper test administration. (n=78,020) (n=69,374)

4 5
Whether an absence is classified as excused or unexcused is For information about federal guidelines as they apply to
regulated by policies developed by individual school districts. Washington State, see Office of Superintendent of Public
See: http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/WASLCurrent.aspx?schoolId Instruction, “AYP Questions and Answers,” August 2006.
=1&reportLevel=State&year=2005-06&gradeLevel=10. (RCW See: http://www.k12.wa.us/ESEA/pubdocs/AYPFAQ
28A.225.020) August0906.doc
 Exhibit 5 demonstrates how the use of Exhibit 5
different denominators to calculate met Meeting Standard on the 10th-Grade WASL as a Percentage
Based on Different Denominators, by Subject Area
standard rates affects subject-area results on
100%
the WASL. The denominators for these
Reading
calculations are based on the number of
80%
students for each subject area. For example, 82.2% 85.7%
77.1% 79.2%
the percentage of students who met standard 60%
in reading varies between 77.1 percent for all
10th graders who were slated to take the 40%
reading assessment and 85.7 percent for
students who completed the reading 20%
assessment.
0%
As with the overall met standard rates, basing Slated Students NCLB Slated With OSPI Completers
Exemptions
the results on students who completed each
subject area assessment produces the highest 100%
met standard rate, whereas results based on Writing
students who were slated to take the subject 80%
83.7%
area produce the lowest rate. 77.0% 79.9%
75.0%
60%

Pursuant to the Institute’s mandate to identify

(1) the characteristics of students who did not 40%

meet standard on the WASL and (2) possible

barriers to their lack of success,6 our focus is 20%

on students who take and complete the WASL.

0%
As such, the Institute reports the number of Slated Students NCLB Slated With OSPI Completers
students who met standard on the WASL as a Exemptions

percentage of students who completed an 100%

assessment. Math
80%

6
60%
SSB 6618, Chapter 352, Laws of 2006.
51.3% 54.1%
40% 48.0% 49.4%

20%

0%
Slated Students NCLB Slated With OSPI Completers
Exemptions

For further information, please contact

Wade Cole: (360) 586-2791, wcole@wsipp.wa.gov; or
Robert Barnoski: (360) 586-2744, barney@wsipp.wa.gov. Document No. 06-11-2201

Washington State
Institute for
Public Policy
The Washington State Legislature created the Washington State Institute for Public Policy in 1983. A Board of Directors—representing the legislature,
the governor, and public universities—governs the Institute and guides the development of all activities. The Institute’s mission is to carry out practical
research, at legislative direction, on issues of importance to Washington State.